Former Texas officer could face retrial

LONGVIEW {AP} A former East Texas police officer faces a possible retrial after a jury was unable to decide if he knocked down a teen-age girl with his cruiser and then parked the car on her foot.

Gregg County District Attorney Bill Jennings said Friday that a second assault trial for Richard Baldwin was likely to be held in another county because of intense local media coverage.

Baldwin was fired from the Longview Police Department five days after the alleged January 2000 incident. Baldwin, who had been with the department nine years, was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant last March.

The hung jury, which deliberated for seven hours, ended Baldwin's trial Thursday, suspending charges that were brought after the incident that left Dequandria Russell, then 13, with a skinned and bruised foot.

Local television stations have aired video showing Baldwin's police cruiser as it swerved toward Russell and knocked her down. The video was shot by another officer as he drove up behind Baldwin's cruiser.

Baldwin's defense attorney Odis Hill said he was ready to defend the case a second time.

In July, Russell was awarded $102,000 from the city to settle her federal lawsuit against the police department and Baldwin.